(Actual Date of Post - September 29, 2016)
Last week we opened our new STEAMWorks Lab! We had every class come during their computer lab time. Here's what we did:
Prek/Kinder - got the legos out and they were challenged to build something that had to do with the Gingerbread Man story. We had many spaceships for the gingerbread man to escape in, a dinosaur to help him escape, an airplane with a trap that would lower down and catch the gingerbread man, a zipline for the gingerbread man, and a snowplow for the little old man and the little old lady to help catch him in the snow!
1st grade - first graders used wood planks to build things in teams. Then in bigger teams they were challenged to build the tallest tower they could in 5 minutes that could support a box of legos. We had some crashes and laughter and learned it was ok to fail and try again.
2nd grade - In partners the students had to create simple wood patterns with planks that the other person couldn't see. Then they had to explain to the other person how to recreate the structure using only words. At the end they did the tallest tower challenge. They learned that the teams that worked the best together made the most progress.
3rd grade - The third graders were given different sized index cards and were told to build a structure 10" off the ground to hold stuffed animals (animals in the Houston zoo needed to be lifted off the ground in a possible flood situation). They could use as much tape as they needed. About 40% were successful and again we learned that failure was ok and redesign the way to go.
4th grade - 4th graders were given 1 manilla folder, a roll of tape and 15 minutes to build the tallest tower they could. They learned about the engineering design process and used it in this challenge.
5th grade - 5th graders were put in teams and given a bag of various recycled items. With the items they had to come up with a prototype of an invention in about 15 mins.
Last week we opened our new STEAMWorks Lab! We had every class come during their computer lab time. Here's what we did:
Prek/Kinder - got the legos out and they were challenged to build something that had to do with the Gingerbread Man story. We had many spaceships for the gingerbread man to escape in, a dinosaur to help him escape, an airplane with a trap that would lower down and catch the gingerbread man, a zipline for the gingerbread man, and a snowplow for the little old man and the little old lady to help catch him in the snow!
1st grade - first graders used wood planks to build things in teams. Then in bigger teams they were challenged to build the tallest tower they could in 5 minutes that could support a box of legos. We had some crashes and laughter and learned it was ok to fail and try again.
2nd grade - In partners the students had to create simple wood patterns with planks that the other person couldn't see. Then they had to explain to the other person how to recreate the structure using only words. At the end they did the tallest tower challenge. They learned that the teams that worked the best together made the most progress.
3rd grade - The third graders were given different sized index cards and were told to build a structure 10" off the ground to hold stuffed animals (animals in the Houston zoo needed to be lifted off the ground in a possible flood situation). They could use as much tape as they needed. About 40% were successful and again we learned that failure was ok and redesign the way to go.
4th grade - 4th graders were given 1 manilla folder, a roll of tape and 15 minutes to build the tallest tower they could. They learned about the engineering design process and used it in this challenge.
5th grade - 5th graders were put in teams and given a bag of various recycled items. With the items they had to come up with a prototype of an invention in about 15 mins.
Gingerbread man trap
5th Grade Inventors